Croc

Now I know who was the evil influence on buying your Sadev gearbox and going one up on me! Lovely car Mad Hatter! I read your post on Blatchat with the build of this. Absolutely bonkers but inspiring! In your Cadfest video - how did you mount your GoPro on the front A arms?

So they put a Formula Atlantic powered Caterham in Category E??? The Alfa would rust by the first corner and the Jensen Healey would have electrical failure by the seventh. And if you do not blow away an original racing Lotus Super Seven from the mid-60s I will be most disappointed if you do not come first... Not that I am ramping up any pressure mind you.... :seeya:

Nah...nice try with the excuse. You're over 40 so it must be your bones! :jester:

MoPho - what did you do to make it work so much better this time?

Hi Glenn - The whole operation moved about a month back to a new and much nicer facility in an area that does not scare people when they get out of the car!

Going O/T for a moment - I understand the idea was still born. I believe it was NASA (no not the space agency) that was organizing the concept. The car order was placed and then put on hold indefinitely. While they planned to start in NYC they were then going to make it a travelling roadshow. Sadly nothing ever happened.

:rofl: PS - love your Walmart avatar too!

I thought SCCA did not accept sevens or open top convertibles?

If you are in the UK then I would recommend a trip to Caterham South. Easy trip on the train to Caterham and the showroom is right next to the station. To tempt you, this is what I found when I went there in 2010. http://www.usa7s.com/vb/showthread.php?t=5772&highlight=silverstone The good thing is you can see all the cars, test drive and understand what you are getting from the different options. Caterham USA does not offer that option. It is scheduled for June 25 and 26. The post is linked here: http://www.usa7s.com/vb/showthread.php?t=7243 I am sure we would break the rules to let you run with some sevens. After all the philosophy of an Elise is similar to a seven. The real issue is shoe size in the small pedal box. I find all Caterhams very forgiving compared to regular cars - easy to catch and play with. Just to make sure you are thinking the same thing as me, a wind deflector can be the clear perspex/polycarb deflector mounted on the side of the windscreen. http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a354/mjohnson555/seats/IMG_0127.jpg An aeroscreen (using the UK term) which is what I think you were referring to is the flat carbon/plastic/fiberglass horizontal deflector across the scuttle before the cockpit. http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a354/mjohnson555/seats/CSR/October%202011/DSC_1984_edited-1.jpg While I enjoy the aeroscreen it is not the greatest thing on the NJ Turnpike as you do get some stuff kicked up in the face.

It must be the internal mic still recording wind noise. I was baffled when I discovered this little design flaw. Their excuse was that it provided stereo sound! :banghead: I would also try the boot under the rear tonneau as that was the best location I found after trial and error.

I don't think so. Ron and Karl cope quiet well. Naturally I am better off because my CSR is more road going with IRS, column stalks for wipers/washer, headlights and indicators, air conditioning and heating vents. I have the space to slot in a stereo but have yet to do it. However, all of our cars can be frustrating as the engines are so powerful that you really cannot touch their extraordinary abilities on the road. Not at all. At the June track day last year, there were 2 zetec superlights doing very nicely. Sure I could blow past them with more power but there was not much in it on cornering. Then the suicidal Kitcat demonstrated how a simple Crossflow can humble all of us! Another data point - last year I had a bog standard R300 on road CR500's at Silverstone. Magic little car. I lost out on the huge F1 straights but was competitive in braking and cornering. At NJMP where the straights are shorter then you would be hard pressed to notice the difference. One little known fact - you can get a CSR chassis with any engine spec, including the little roadsport duratec 175 engine package. This was my decision in late 2010. Was the CSR worth it over the R500? I went to the UK (business trip excuse!) to test one out and make a decision. The CSR is more like a regular car on the road because the IRS does not allow it to be bumps off line. Point to point on a regular road surface the CSR will win every time over a de dion equipped car with the same engine. now some people will say that it is a loss of character but I dont. I prefer it over my previous de dion SV roadsport. The other data point that convinced me was Caterham UK showing me the video of the CSR 260 at Duxford doing a Top Gear lap of 1.17.1 compared to the R500 at 1.17.9 both on CR500 street tires. Given variations in weather, temp, driver, etc. I would say that is a dead heat in performance terms. The CSR driver looked to do it easily but the R500 footage was made more spectacular by the Top Gear guys so I cannot read too much into that. The real difference between an R500 and CSR is the different standard engine spec. I have the 2.3L Duratec whereas the R500 uses the 2L. Same block but longer stroke for the 2.3 means lower rev limit (7500 vs 8300 I think?) but much more torque. The 2.3L is easier to drive and keep within the power band. The R500 is a screamer and probably a little more difficult to drive fast and keep within the power band. One other thing to consider - the IRS allows a CSR to hop corners and rumble strips at a track without unsettling the car. This does extend your racing line width on a track. I have heard anecdotally from some that the de dion rear suspension does not like kerbing on tracks. Now this is where you will get a lot of opinions. After 3 sevens you would think I have got my perfect seven but no, there are aspects I could improve. My highly individual view: - Dont think about the 5 speed box despite some UK CSR owners recommending them over the 6 speed. The Caterham 6 speed box is very good unless you want a sequential. - Definitely get the LSD and fit a catch tank. Mine decided to breathe heavy at NJMP on my first track day and the level was checked before as perfect. - Definitely get the FIA roll bar with diagonals -dont get the standard roll bar. - If you want to track the car then think about getting a aeroscreen to use on the track to save your windscreen. I destroyed my windscreen in first track session at NJMP. They are easy to interchange when you have the optional captive nut brackets installed during the build. - If you are thinking of one of the Cosworth duratecs or the Caterham R500 spec Duratec with dry sump then fit a proper oil catch tank instead of the washer bottle that they supply. These engines breathe hot oil heavily - all over the pedals and my feet as I discovered. - Dry sump for track work if you are not looking at R500 or CSR Superlight spec cars. - Forget the plumbed in fire extinguisher. Just install a good one mounted in the cockpit. - Try both Tillets and the regular leather seats. I get back pain in a Tillet. Others prefer the tillets. - High roll bar mount rear brake light. - Go for 5 or 6 point belts over the standard 4pointers. - The carbon cam cover from Reverie offers no performance benefit but is just gorgeous to admire. - If you are getting a CSR 200 or 260 (or higher like mine) then make sure it has the extra race diff struts. Otherwise you will rip your diff out at some point. - shift lights as the tach is hard to see at full song down the straight. - mirrors for sevens wink mirror - brilliant visibility. - think about which diff ratios you want. You can select between a range of them. The CSR diff comes with an extra ratio option (3.41) over the 3 standard R500/Roadsport options (3.36, 3.62, 3.92 I think?). - the weather kit with sidescreens does extend the driving season in NJ as does a heater (although arguably a CSR with the curvy dash chassis does not need it!). - if you are going CSR Cosworth 260 then get the "secret sauce kit" for the track...good for another 12 or so horsepower. Sequentials are a like it or hate type of thing. I used to hate them when I tried a few in offshore touring car racing. I much prefer the H pattern box and still do today. However, Karl (Blubarisax) has the sadev sequential which is an engineering work of art which while not ideal for the road is manageable in heavy traffic as we both saw last year on a failed Sunday drive. The Caterham sequential is usually the Quaife although I have heard some UK guys are using another sequential box by Elite. If you are only doing 3-4 track days a year then I would say don't bother as they are quite a bit more expensive and more difficult for road use. That said, going up the gears on a track in a sequential is intoxicating. When you go out to Denver make sure you allow time to see Skip's car. Not only is his car excellent food for thought on what you can do with an SV Roadsport with a few little engine mods, Skip is a great guy to chat with and learn all things seven. He certainly treated me well when I went through my spec and build process last year plus he knows some brilliant local roads. I recommend you get around and see some of the cars local to you in NJ and just try them on. Karl (Blubarisax) has offerred you to see his SV Superlight which has is very highly spec'ed with a Cosworth Duratec and sadev sequential and this is a car definitely worth looking at for ideas (usually expensive! ) My CSR is currently in downtown Jersey City NJ (in a safe part near the Holland Tunnel) and is the only one you are likely to easily see between here and Denver since they are pretty rare. I had to go to the UK to see one when I was making my buying decision. I am back home tomorrow and will be around this Sunday or next weekend if you want to see it and try it on for size. I will PM my cell number separately. We should talk off line re NJ registration process as this can be challenging to say the least :ack:

I did nothing special - you saw the GoPro2 test video link I posted up front in this post [EDIT - no I did not so added link]. With that cheapie mic, I plugged it into the GoPro2, ran it down under the rear boot tonneau and taped it to the rear vertical chassis uprights in the middle of the boot (trunk?) area. I did not add any foam wrap - just used the little foam sock it came with. The real problem I have now is diff noise - hear mine clank and rattle and whine on lift off. Supposedly I have a "quiet" diff....yeah right! Oh one thing that might make a difference - I sealed up the internal mic hole on the camera itself. I was told by GoPro that this remains operating all the time even after you plug in an external mic. Some of your wind noise could be from this? I can confirm that in a number of frustrating attempts, I tried up under the dash (both near and far), under both seats, behind both seats and those positions gave greater wind noise than the under the boot tonneau location. I also tried using Cyberlink wave editor (came with the video editing software) to "clean" up the sound but it really did not improve it that much. Then again I am not a sound editor. My next attempt once this cold weather disappears is to buy one of the powered mics suggested in this thread by Jim and others and try that to see if I can get a better result. I am amazed how little I can find on the web about sound recording in open wheel cars so I can improve what I am doing.

Email Sam Pearce (Membership Secretary) at memsec@lotus7club.com She can also be reached at +44-1873-739-069 I have found she returns emails within 24 hours.

Excellent! Another hardcore car guy like me who believes in driving himself to the track!

I am very sorry to hear about your misfortune. Having dealt with these guys too many times, I know the frustration. However, there have been a few seveners over the years who ran into similar unique interpretations of the rules at Morristown - you can search them on this forum. It also does not help that NJ DMV does not follow Federal laws and regs on low volume cars and emission matters. anyway.... Back to Stewart to tell us what he is buying - pics?

Hi Stewart :seeya: I just went down this road with my race car. I think Alaskossie has identified your biggest issue. If assembled then better be over 25 years unless it is on the approved list. And it will not be on that unless it was sold in the US at some point in the past. If an unassembled kit then you need to get it through the low volume import rules. Unassembled means more than just taking the wheels off....shortcuts here could be problematic. As for the NJ DMV, nothing warmed my heart more than to hear from MrMustang that Morristown Speciality inspection was sunk under 12 feet of water! You have my DMV playbook notes from the first time you went through. Nothing has changed. The real catch is whether you have a pre-OBDII engine. If you do then you will still have the speciality inspection colonoscopy but it will not be fatal since they do not hook your car to the computer. If it is post OBDII then that is more complicated and probably worth talking by phone. So what are you buying?

Yep - neutral and balanced all the way up to when you went off the circuit: http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a354/mjohnson555/seats/CSR/Sevens%20track%20day%20Nov%202011/NJMPSE4.jpg :jester: Being sensible for a moment - I will also say the CR500s are good. I have to use them on my car (nothing else in my size wheels) and luckily they work well. I like how they communicate grip levels well and progressively let go when you exceed their limits.

Xcarguy on this forum is building a Rotrex supercharged Duratec Birkin. No idea if they can do something similar for a Zetec but I bet there is something out there for a Zetec. That would give you a hp boost. I think try the aero options first with the switch to aeroscreen and cover over the passenger side of the cockpit. It would not surprise me if that gave 8mph extra top end speed alone. Certainly the car feels more responsive without the airbrake windscreen. At that point you can evaluate how far you have to go to reach your 130mph target.

Edited to remove incorrect post

A T-9 box was designed to get a Ford Capri (a UK model not the POS sold in the US as a convertible), or a Ford Sierra/Mercury XR4i. So first gear is useless for us in a seven. The UK Caterham racers using a Type 9 gearbox and a 3.62 diff will generally modify the gearbox with help from BGH with a long first and a close ratio gear set of the following ratios 1st - 2.39 2nd - 1.54 3rd - 1.21 4th - 1:1 5th - 0.87 For comparison the Caterham 6 speed box has the ratios of: 1st - 2.69 2nd - 2.01 3rd - 1.59 4th - 1.32 5th - 1.13 6th - 1:1 The ratios tell the story how your standard T-9 box is holding you back from accelerating quicker and from keeping the engine in its power band. I have seen on Blatchat that a 3.92 diff ratio is more commonly paired with a 5 speed T-9 box whereas the 3.62 diff ratio pairs with a 6 speed box. Here is a thread on Blatchat discussing the pros and cons of this further: http://www.blatchat.com/t.asp?id=208870 http://www.blatchat.com/t.asp?id=201170 Switching gears (pun intended ) - Other aero tips from the Caterham UK racing series - cover up the passenger side of the cockpit so that air flows smoothly over. You can do this with the tonneau or buy a fancy cover from Caterham, Fluke, etc.

The Lightning circuit at NJMP is well made for Crossflows as you can still monster any car - demonstrated last year by Kitcat and Sabbot. Even if they get away on the main or back straights you are back giving them a colonoscopy at the first braking area.

I assumed you had the standard 3.62 diff ratio - my fault. The 3.36 ratio that you have is more for touring. I chatted with people when I was deciding this point on my current car and landed on 3.62 as it was the best compromise. There is a 3.92 but that is going to hold you back on top speed although you should get there quicker but it is a pain for road use. The UK R300 duratec with 3.62 is geared for 135mph area. The 3.36 will gear you higher but as you discover you are running out of track and maybe "oomph" to get you higher. The 3.92 will lower the top speed down to around 125mph - I am guessing 10mph as that was the change impact it had in the spreadsheet for my car. Also going against you is the 5 speed box. 5th is the overdrive so you have just the first 4 gears to really get you going. The six speed box adds two extra ratios to help you keep in the power band. That would help you accelerate quicker to vmax in the limits of the straight length. Roebling is a fairly open circuit that is always going to disadvantage a seven since it has one very long straight where the big cars will disappear instead of a tighter circuit with maybe 2 straights to break up the top speed potential. On your circuit you are always going to have difficulties. By comparison, at Lightning circuit at NJMP which is fairly tight and has two smaller straights, the sevens group in June 2011 was molesting everything in sight, including several Z06s. This included Kitcat in his old crossflow which is down 100hp from you. By contrast on Thunderbolt circuit at NJMP the more open layout (more straight) allows the higher speeds to come out from the higher horsepower cars. But with aeroscreen, 6 speed box, and higher diff ratio you should be starting to match what I saw in the UK in the same car 135mph. That is probably not enough for what you want? Supercharger time?

I think NJMP mandates full face SA2005/2010 helmets even if the track day operator does not. Expect an update to happen at some time on the SDCA website.

I think you are understating your car here. Looking at the NJMP video on Thunderbolt main straight shows you ahead of me maintaining gap when I am in the 123-128mph range. This is from the RaceChrono GPS datalogger in my car. I think you will be more like a 135mph top speed?

Getting rid of the windscreen for an aeroscreen (I think that is what you are changing to?) makes a huge difference especially over 100mph. The car definitely feels more responsive with an aeroscreen on. I swap my windscreen to an aeroscreen once I get to the track. The windscreen is nicer for avoiding bugs, stones, etc. I find that the tracks I drive dont allow me enough straight to get to max speed. I have GPS data logging showing me I have reached 131mph whereas the speedo dial was reading 141-142mph at the time. So your 120mph may not have been a true 120 if you were relying on the Caterham speedo? In theory my car can make 155mph at redline 7500 in 6th but I am yet to see it. I believe it can get close to 150mph as I am still accelerating strongly at 130mph when I have to throw the anchors out to brake for the next corner. My engine is a Duratec Cosworth 275hp. I drove a UK spec R300 2L duratec SV race car at Silverstone GP circuit last year which was making a claimed 195hp (probably what yours is really making). I was able to hit redline in 6th gear on the longest straight which translates to about 135mph. If you have the standard T-9 5 speed in your car then your 4th gear matches the 6th gear in the Caterham box. So if given enough straight you should be able to match my Silverstone speed.